Chinese manjha, glass-coated cotton kite strings lethal for humans, birds alike

[Judi Lynn]

On Friday, the Gujarat government informed the high court it received 68 complaints in connection with the illegal trade and procurement of the banned threads since Jan 9 this year.

Written by Aditi Raja
Vadodara | January 13, 2023 16:32 IST

Since the beginning of the month, in view of Uttarayan which falls on January 14 and 15, the Gujarat Police have begun cracking down on the sale of lethal kite strings known to fatally injure birds and people. These strings include the Chinese manjha – nylon threads which are sometimes coated with powdered glass – as well as other synthetic threads that are coated with glass or emery powder.

On Friday, the state government informed the Gujarat High Court that they have received 68 complaints in connection with the illegal trade and procurement of the banned threads since January 9 this year after a helpline was set up at the direction of the court. The high court is hearing a petition seeking effective implementation of the 2016 notice of the state’s forest department. The deaths of at least six people have been recorded in the state so far due to kite strings. This mostly includes two-wheeler riders who get caught in the dangling and almost invisible loose glass strings while riding the vehicle.

Vadodara Commissioner of Police Shamsher Singh said the crackdown is against all lethal strings. “During the raids, we are seizing all kinds of threads that are dangerous. This is as per the NGT notification. The seized strings here are usually manufactured in other parts of the country and we are cracking down on traders… Some of the consignments that we seized had come from Delhi. However, we have noticed that the manufacturers have now removed branding and logos from the prohibited threads fearing police action… We are trying to create awareness about the prohibited strings,” Singh said.

The razor-sharp strings, in all forms, puts humans, birds, other animals and the environment at risk, especially if reinforced with glass powder and metal. In its release on Thursday, PETA India Advocacy Officer Farhat Ul Ain, said, “We commend the life-saving action taken by Gujarat police to seize illegal manjha… This enforcement will go a long way towards protecting the lives of humans as well as birds, including endangered vultures, who are lacerated by the sharp string,” says. “Most people would choose to use only plain cotton kite strings if they knew that doing so would spare fellow humans and other animals serious injuries and even death.”

More:
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/gandhinagar/chinese-manjha-glass-kite-strings-lethal-humans-birds-8380092/

[Mickju]

1. How ghastly!

How could anyone have ever conceived of such a hideous thing?

[Mopar151]

2. Fighting kites. nt